Premier League Intensity - Too Much?

I haven't put the statistics together to back up this theory but I was just thinking about the injuries United have had this season and teams like Everton seem to have every season, added to the top Premier League stars that seem to miss major tournaments due to injury and when you see them dropping like flies before Euro 2012 you do start to wonder if the league is a bit too tough and too intense for the modern schedule.

It may be due to the fact I don't follow other leagues and nations as closely but there never seems to be half as many injuries from other leagues. Is a winter break now essential?

Anecdotally the English game has always caused more injuries; its faster paced with bigger tackles. The Spanish and Italian games are controlled and defensive respectively.

But given this season we've had relatively few games (3 Carling Cup games, all of which we used reserves in, 2 FA Cup games, only 10 European games compared to 13 last year) it seems crazy that we have had so many more injuries.

Dunno how much difference there is nowadays because the image of the Premiership being full of hard tackles doesn't hold up really. The ease with which you now get booked is cutting that element out of the game, so there shouldn't be much difference between the leagues, certainly compared to previously.

Dunno how much difference there is nowadays because the image of the Premiership being full of hard tackles doesn't hold up really. The ease with which you now get booked is cutting that element out of the game, so there shouldn't be much difference between the leagues, certainly compared to previously.

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It's not the perception of 'hard tackles' and 'kicking you off the park'.

It is more the fact that 50/50 ball is more than encouraged to win and win with force. It may result in giving away a FK or being booked and I do agree the ref's are clamping down more and more on dangerous play and reckless lunges for the ball.

The amount of 50/50 ball that gets attacked at force has to be much higher than the other leagues around the world.

Dunno how much difference there is nowadays because the image of the Premiership being full of hard tackles doesn't hold up really. The ease with which you now get booked is cutting that element out of the game, so there shouldn't be much difference between the leagues, certainly compared to previously.

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Well you're talking purely about impact injuries there, when the fatigue inherent in the English game - as in, the pace it is played at, with a general emphasis on territory over possession - is what causes a lot of injuries and it is also what justifies the winter break debate.

Well you're talking purely about impact injuries there, when the fatigue inherent in the English game - as in, the pace it is played at, with a general emphasis on territory over possession - is what causes a lot of injuries and it is also what justifies the winter break debate.

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Never said a break debate wasn't justified, but that to say a winter break is 'essential' is just stupid, we've just had another great Premiership season without a break, not at all essential to change it.

Not sure about the rest, I think you would get more fatigued running around in Spain at 30 degrees than you would in England..

Never said a break debate wasn't justified, but that to say a winter break is 'essential' is just stupid, we've just had another great Premiership season without a break, not at all essential to change it.

Not sure about the rest, I think you would get more fatigued running around in Spain at 30 degrees than you would in England..

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I agree, it's not essential

Disagree about the fatigue, and I think the "it's really hot in Spain sometimes" argument is pretty specious.

Just putting this out there for the discussion:

For the first time this year, evidence has come to light supporting the likes of Ferguson and Hughes' in their opinion that not having a winter break adversely affects the performance of players. Pro-Zone, an industry-leading football analyst and work directly with most Premier League clubs, published a report back in February, called 'An objective insight into whether English football should introduce a winter break'. The results of the study, based on analysis of players from all top flight clubs, revealed that there was a "sizeable drop in performance in December" - a 20% cent fall on the season average in 'high intensity work' (sprinting and high-speed running) and a 41% decrease on the season peak in distance covered that month.

The report also suggested players are most susceptible to injury as a consequence of fatigue and heavy workload - which is at its greatest over the festival period. Top physiotherapists working in the Premier League agree that the Christmas calendar can be detrimental to the well-being of their players. Arsenal's chief physiotherapist, Gary Lewin, is one such individual to call for a winter break, believing a period of rest and recuperation it is needed for players to perform at their optimum level.

The first pararaph of the report isn't surprising. Obviously players will sprint less frequently and run a shorter total distance when they play many games in a short space of time. It isn't necessarily a problem.

Whether it can be linked to injuries would matter, but there is no evidence provided which indicates that. All it says is that it is 'suggested' they will be more susceptible to injury.